Hard hats and police shields: Alcoa workers clash with police in Rome

Alcoa workers clash with police near the Ministry of Economic Development in Rome on Sept. 10.

Workers from a threatened Alcoa Inc. aluminum plant in Sardinia clashed with police Monday as they continued a protest in Rome to pressure the Italian government to intervene to keep the factory open.

Reuters reports: U.S.-based Alcoa plans to close the loss-making factory by November unless a buyer is found. The only interested suitor, German hedge fund Aurelius, pulled out of talks with the government in August.

Closure of the plant, a major employer on Sardinia, would be a heavy blow for the island, risking hundreds of jobs in a region already beset by high unemployment and a sluggish economy.